Plans to build 55 houses in a village paddock have been sent back to the drawing board after councillors listened to residents’ objections.

Stockton Council ’s planning committee rejected officers’ recommendations to approve plans for a development near William Cassidi CofE Primary School in Stillington .

Councillors praised the design of the two, three, and four bedroom houses by developer Amethyst Homes.

But they rejected the plans due to concerns about access through the adjoining Jasper Grove cul-de-sac.

The decision was greeted with cheers and applause by residents who attended the meeting at Stockton Municipal Buildings on Wednesday.

Jasper Grove resident Justin Cox said he and his partner bought their home 20 years ago when plans clearly showed he was buying a home in a cul-de-sac.

But he said it quickly became apparent that developers saw Jasper Grove as a potential through road for a future development.

“We moved in while the majority of the houses were still being built,” he said.

“Shepherd Homes said that, on the insistence of the land owner, they had left the land for 9 Jasper Grove clear. There is no 9 Jasper Grove.

“I was at the planning meeting three or four years ago for the outline planning application for these new houses.

“It was only granted because access was a reserve matter.

“I don’t see how it can be right for a cul-de-sac to become a through road.

“The developer was told they should go away and consider different access - I get the impression that conversation never took place.”

The plans

He added: “I’m not objecting to the development but I can’t accept that Jasper Grove is a legitimate access.”

Another three residents agreed saying they had no objections to the housing development being built, but objected to the plans on the basis of access.

Defending Stockton Council officers’ decision to recommend the plans be approved unchanged, urban design manager, Peter Shovlin, said access through Jasper Grove was safe and complied with the local authority’s design guide.